uncle’s hands. “Can we talk about my problems, here?”
Uncle Ennis looked over at him again. “It’s not you. I said that. Take heart.”
“It could be him,” Jack teased, obviously unaware of how close Caleb was to snapping. “I mean, if you had to date Caleb, you’d probably lose your shit at some point, too.”
Caleb glared at his younger brother, then turned back to his uncle. “If it’s not me, what is it?”
For a moment, Uncle Ennis continued to study his half-completed crossword. Then he glanced over at Caleb. “Put yourself in her place. She’s divorced, right? New to this town. Lonely. The look on her face sometimes reminds me of one of the dogs I rescued back in the day. It was abandoned on the side of the road and I think it broke a little piece of his spirit. Every time I left, he howled at the door for hours. Every time I came back, I could have sworn there was this look of surprise on his face, like he didn’t expect me to return. And when I did, instead of being happy to see me, he’d bite me.” The old man chuckled.
This . . . was a nonsense story. What did this have to do with his woman? “Amy’s not a dog.”
“I didn’t say she was. The mentality is similar, though. Something’s hurt her badly in the past and she’s in defense mode. She’s lashing out because she doesn’t want to get hurt again. She’s trying to protect herself before you hurt her.”
His Amy . . . hurt. It was like something clicked into place. The wild look in her eyes. The tears and frustration. Her constant need to be independent despite her aching loneliness. She was hurt, all right. Was that what was happening, then? Was she pushing Caleb away because she was afraid he’d break her like her ex had?
He’d never hurt her. All he wanted was to love her. To be at her side and see her smile. To wake up in the morning with her in his arms, and to go to bed at night knowing she was right there next to him. Caleb loved her with all his heart. Had since the first moment he saw her.
If she was hurting, he wanted to fix it. And she was giving up on him because . . . what? Because something in their relationship had scared her? He needed to see her. To reassure her that he was never going anywhere. That he’d be there for her, always, in whatever way she needed.
He got to his feet.
“Going somewhere?” Jack asked.
“Need to think about how I’m going to fix this,” Caleb said. “And what Amy needs from me.”
“Attaboy,” Uncle Ennis said. “Before you go . . .”
Caleb turned to him. “What?”
“Three-letter word for obfuscate?”
Caleb sighed. “Haven’t the foggiest.”
Jack snapped his fingers. “Fog!”
“It is fog,” Uncle Ennis said. “Good call, boy.”
If only everything in Caleb’s life were that easy. He left the kitchen and went back to the barn, thinking hard. He leaned against the barn door, eyeing the decorations. Amy would have loved them, he knew. She was so thrilled about everything he did for her, as if she never expected such kindness. That broke his damn heart all over again.
His uncle was right. Something had spooked her, and she was running before she could get hurt again. The question was, how did he fix it?
* * *
* * *
The answer to his problem came to him in the middle of the night. A fresh snow fell on the ground, thick and white, leaving the world blanketed in silence. It reminded him of Alaska on nights like this, and for some reason, it cleared his mind. Helped him think.
He couldn’t “fix” Amy.
There was nothing wrong with her. Was she terrified of being hurt again? Probably. Did she truly want to break up with him or was she just saving herself? He didn’t know the truth to that one. But he knew what he could do—the same thing he’d always done. He could be there for her. He could quietly support her and let her figure out her own way, all the while taking care of her. He could show her he wasn’t going anywhere. That whatever she needed, he’d provide.
And maybe she’d learn to trust him.
Didn’t matter if it took a long time. He wasn’t going anywhere. That was the best way to prove himself to her, Caleb realized. Not with fancy gifts or big